GB2527110A

GB2527110A - Winch for assisting vehicle coupling

Info

Publication number: GB2527110A
Application number: GB1410491.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Richard John Olley
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-06-12
Filing date: 2014-06-12
Publication date: 2015-12-16
Also published as: GB201410491D0

Abstract

A vehicle coupling comprising a winch arrangement having a cable 30 with a hook 32 on one end for bringing a trailer 2 to a vehicle 4 for coupling a first coupling part, tow hitch or socket 10 to a second coupling part, tow ball 14. The winch arrangement may be mounted on a track 16 to allow lateral movement along the track so that the cable 30 can be arranged to pass directly under the mounting centre of the tow hitch 10, the centre of socket 12. The track may be curved and extend around the mounting centre. The track may have a constant cross section and an interlocking tooth or tongue 22 and groove 18 characteristic. The winch arrangement may comprise a winch 24 movable along the track or a fixed winch and a movable cable guide. The cable may be a chain and the winch may comprise a chain gear which may be rotated by means of a handle 28.

Description

Winch for assisting vehicle coupling

Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a winch for a vehicle coupling arrangement.

Background to the Invention

Vehicles may be coupled to trailers in a number of different ways, for example a drawbar arrangement or a tow hitch in combination with a tow ball. It can be difficult to connect the towing vehicle to the trailer, especially when the trailer is heavy or when the user of the vehicle is of limited strength or dexterity.

For this reason, a trailer may be provided with a tow hitch and a vehicle with a tow ball. A winch may be mounted on the trailer and connected with a hook.

The hook may be hooked to the tow ball of the towing vehicle and the winch operated to bring the trailer and towing vehicle together. Unfortunately, in this arrangement, the winch tends to operate in a way that misaligns the trailer and vehicle since the cable is not aligned in any way. Thus, using such an approach the tow ball and tow hitch are not brought together. There is therefore still a need for manual adjustment of the towing vehicle and trailer which can still be difficult especially in the case of a heavy trailer.

A solution to this is proposed in US 4,186,939, which teaches a very complex arrangement with yaw and distance monitoring, a computer display, and a winch. However, this solution requires both complex electronics and a complex mechanical arrangement and such complexity is not appropriate in this application.

There accordingly remains a need for a simple arrangement for bringing two vehicle mounting parts together, for example a tow hitch in alignment with a tow ball.

I

Summary of the invention

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a vehicle coupling comprising: a first coupling part extending longitudinally from a vehicle body for mating with a second coupling part, the first coupling part having a mounting centre for engaging with the second coupling part; a cable having a hook on the end of the line for attaching to the second coupling part; and a winch arrangement between the mounting centre and the vehicle body for pulling the cable, the winch arrangement being movable laterally to adjust the cable when the cable is attached to the second coupling part so that the cable passes directly over or under the mounting centre.

In typical prior arrangements, a wholly separate winch is mounted on a trailer adjacent to the coupling part on the trailer. In this case, when the winch is used to bring the trailer and towing vehicle together, the first and second coupling parts end up misaligned. In the case of a heavy trailer, it can be very difficult to move the trailer to correct this misalignment.

In contrast, using the invention, by adjusting the position of the winch arrangement so that the cable passes over or under the mounting centre, the cable acts in use to draw the second coupling part directly to the correct position for coupling the first and second parts together.

The result is achieved using a simple movable winch arrangement between the mounting centre and the vehicle body. Accordingly, complex arrangements with multiple components and cable routing are avoided.

Further developments of the invention are the subject-matter of the dependent claims.

In order to provide for the lateral movement, the vehicle coupling may comprise a track extending laterally wherein the winch arrangement is movable along the track. The track may cross the centre-line of the vehicle between the mounting centre and the vehicle body, i.e. the track is mounted inwardly of the mounting centre.

The track may be a curved track extending round the mounting centre. In this way, the tension in the cable is perpendicular to the track along the length of the track which in turn reduces the force acting along the track tending to force the winch arrangement along the track when the winch is in use.

Accordingly, the arcuate track reduces the need to fix the winch arrangement securely in place to prevent the winch arrangement moving along the track in use, improves safety and minimises the need for additional components. In embodiments, the track is a circular arc having a geometric centre coincident in the horizontal plane with the geometric centre of the mounting centre.

The track may have a constant cross section arranged to retain a tooth connected to the winch arrangement, the tooth being able to move along the track. This arrangement is simple to manufacture and provides a strong coupling between track and winch which allows for a considerable force to be exerted by the winch. Moreover, this arrangement causes the tooth to lock in place along the track when the winch is operated since the force along the cable is carried by the tooth and track which effectively locks the tooth in place along the track when the winch is operated.

Alternatively, the track may have a constant cross section in the form of a tooth, the winch arrangement being shaped around the tooth to retain the tooth with the winch arrangement being able to move along the track.

Optionally, there may be provided a locking mechanism to lock the winch I cable guide in position along the track.

The winch arrangement may be a winch mounted on the track and movable along the track. This provides a simple solution with minimal components.

Further, by mounting the winch itself along the track there is no need for the cable to change direction at the track. It will be appreciated that a cable under tension constrained to change direction will tend to provide a force along the track. Thus, by mounting the winch itself on the track the force acting along the track may be minimised.

Alternatively, the winch arrangement may comprise a cable guide mounted on the track and movable along the track. A separate winch may be provided in this case, either installed on the vehicle or separately. The cable guide may be adjusted to guide the cable directly over or under the mounting centre.

In particular embodiments, the first coupling part is a tow hitch, the mounting centre is the centre of the tow ball socket of the tow hitch and the second coupling part is a tow ball.

The track may be an arcuate track mounted under the tow hitch on the vehicle side of the tow ball socket.

Alternatively, other first and second coupling parts may be used. In particular, the invention is also usable in connection with a drawbar arrangement.

The cable may be a chain and the winch may comprise a chain gear. This provides a reliable coupling of the winch to the cable.

The winch may be a hand winch further comprising a handle for rotating the chain gear. The handle may be removable for transport.

Brief description of the drawings

An example of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying diagrams, in which: Fig. 1 is a side view of a vehicle coupling; Fig. 2 is a view from below of part of the vehicle coupling of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a top view of the vehicle coupling during the coupling process.

Detailed description

Figure 1 illustrates a side view of a vehicle coupling for coupling a trailer shown schematically at 2 to a tow vehicle shown schematically at 4.

The vehicle coupling consists of a first coupling part in the form of a tow hitch with a socket 12 attached to trailer 2 for accepting the second coupling part in the form of a tow ball 14. The tow hitch 10 extends longitudinally, i.e. in the front-back direction of the trailer from trailer 2.

An arcuate track 16, whose curved shape may be seen in Figure 2, is mounted to the underside of the tow hitch 10 in a location towards the trailer 2 from the socket 12. The track extends laterally, i.e. sideways of the front-back direction of the trailer. The track is curved to be centered on the location of the socket 12 when viewed vertically.

The track defines an elongate groove 18 extending along the length of the track, the groove being on the underside of the track and narrower at the surface of the track 16. The groove is of constant cross section along the length of the track.

A slider 20 is provided with a tooth 22 which is shaped to engage with the groove 18 and is therefore of complementary form with a narrower base and a broader head. The slider supports a winch 24 in the form of a chain gear 26 and a removable handle 28. The winch includes a planetary gear driven by the handle and a ratchet mechanism to precent tension being lost The slider 20 and winch 24 can move along the arcuate track with tooth 22 engaging in groove 18. Locking nuts 34 are provided, one at each end of the track, for preventing the slider 20 from leaving the track. The locking nuts 34 are removable so that the slider 20 and winch 24 can be removed from the track 16 if required.

A cable in the form of chain 30 is provided which is shown in Figure 1 extending from the winch 24 to a hook 32 for hooking round tow ball 14.

In order to couple two vehicles together, as illustrated in Figure 3, the trailer 2 and towing vehicle 4 are bought together in rough proximity. The towball 14 should be within about im, preferably 60cm, of the towing hitch 10. The hook 32 is then hooked around the towball 14.

The slider 20 and winch 24 are then moved along the arcuate track 16 to the position shown in Figure 3 where a straight line between the winch 24 and the towball 14 passes through a position vertically above or below the centre of the socket 12. As may be seen from Figure 1, in the specific embodiment the chain 30 passes directly under the socket 12.

The winch is then used by turning handle 28 to bring the towball 14 and tow hitch 10 together. The tension in the chain 30 causes the tooth 22 to effectively lock in position in groove 18 of track 16 fixing the slider 20 temporarily in place. At this point the handbrake of the trailer 2 is released.

The winch is then operated until the tow ball 14 is brought into position directly below socket 12 at which point the jockey wheel on the trailer is lowered so that socket 12 is lowered onto tow ball 14 to make the connection.

The winch handle 28 is then removed for transport. If required, especially for a long journey, the winch 24 and slider 20 may likewise be removed.

Note that the removable winch handle 28 may be mounted with the handle on either side of winch 24 whichever is most convenient in a given situation.

The winch can generate up to 1000 kg force (about 10 000N) which is sufficient to move trailers up to 3 500 kg over all but the most uneven terrain.

In alternative embodiments, the winch can be arranged to provide more or less force as appropriate. An electric winch may also be used if required.

Instead of a continuously adjustable track 16, the winch may be fixable at a number of discrete positions along the length of the track, for example using a plurality of holes through the track along its length and a pin passing through the winch to fix the winch in position at a suitable position along the length of the track.

The tooth and groove arrangement may be modified if required and in some embodiments it is not necessary to allow retain the winch with a tooth in the groove, but instead to allow the winch to be removed before being mounted at another position along the track.

In a further alternative arrangement, the winch may be a fixed winch mounted on the trailer 2 with a cable guide mounted on the slider. In this case, the cable in use is again arranged so that it passes directly underneath the socket 12.

The cable guide may be fixed in position with a fixing nut.

Alternatively, instead of a continuous track, the cable guide can be mounted at one of a number of fixed positions along the track. In this case, the cable guide can be held in place with a pin.

In alternative embodiments, the cable can pass over the socket 12, rather than below it.

The description above describes coupling a trailer 2 to a tow vehicle 4 but the same approach may be used for coupling any vehicle body such as a trailer or driven vehicle to another component. Thus, for example, the winch arrangement may be provided on the tow vehicle 4 in which case the arcuate track would extend around the centre of tow ball 14.

The arrangement can also be used for a drawbar towing arrangement in which a bar extends forwards from a trailer to an end socket and connects to a pin mounted to the towing vehicle. In this case, the arcuate track would extend around with a centre on the end socket or pin depending on whether the winch was mounted to the trailer or towing vehicle.

Note that the term "vehicle" is used in this specification to refer to both the trailer and the towing vehicle.

Claims

Claims 1. A vehicle coupling comprising: a first coupling part extending longitudinally from a vehicle body for mating with a second coupling part on a second vehicle body, the first coupling pad having a mounting centre for engaging with the second coupling pad; a cable having a hook on the end of the line for attaching to the second coupling pad; and a winch arrangement between the mounting centre and the vehicle body for pulling the cable, the winch arrangement being movable laterally to adjust the cable when the cable is attached to the second coupling pad so that the cable passes directly over or under the mounting centre.
2. A vehicle coupling according to claim 1 further comprising: a track extending laterally wherein the winch arrangement is movable along the track.
3. A vehicle coupling according to claim 2 wherein the track is a curved track extending round the mounting centre.
4. A vehicle coupling according to claim 2 or 3 wherein the track has a constant cross section arranged to retain a tooth connected to the winch arrangement, the tooth being movable along the track.
5. A vehicle coupling according to claim 2 or 3 wherein the track has a constant cross section in the form of a tooth, the winch arrangement being shaped around the tooth to retain the tooth with the winch arrangement being able to move along the track.
6. A vehicle coupling according to claim 2, 3, 4 or 5 wherein the winch arrangement is a winch mounted on the track and movable along the track.
7. A vehicle coupling according to claim 2, 3, 4 or 5 further comprising a fixed winch, wherein the winch arrangement comprises a cable guide mounted on the track and movable along the track.
8. A vehicle coupling according to any preceding claim wherein the first coupling part is a tow hitch, the mounting centre is the centre of the tow ball socket of the tow hitch and the second coupling part is a tow ball.
9. A vehicle coupling according to claim 8 wherein the track is an arcuate track mounted under the tow hitch on the vehicle side of the tow ball socket.
10. A vehicle coupling according to any preceding claim wherein the cable is a chain and the winch comprises a chain gear.
11. A vehicle coupling according to claim 10 further comprising a handle for rotating the chain gear.
12. A vehicle coupling substantially as herein described above with reference to the accompanying figures.